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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · hand · pound · season · rule · bowl · cold · content

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. season — of the year
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — help
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com